Testing arrangement for circuitinterrupting devices



1933- R. WILLHEIM ET AL 2,104,629

TESTING ARRANGEMENT FOR CIRCUIT INTERRUPTING DEVICES Filed July 8, 1937 lrfiverwtobsz Rao u I Willheim, Gerh arci Fr ljh aufi b Via d} TheiP Attovrwey.

Patented Jan. 4, 1938 'ras'rnvo ARRANGEMENT For: cmcm'rm'maaur'rmo mavrcns Raoul Willheim and Gerhard Friihauf, Berlin- Oberschonewelde, Germany, assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application July 8, 1937, Serial No. 152,586 In Germany August 21, 1936 Claims.

Our invention relates to testing devices and concerns particularly methods and devices for testing circuit-interrupting devices at high apparent power on a low-power source.

5 It is an object of our invention to provide improved simply-operating apparatus for testing circuit breakers under conditions simulating the conditions of short-circuit at rated apparent power as they occur in actual operation.

It is a further object oi. our invention to test under like conditions other apparatus which is intended to interrupt an electrical circuit or in which by accident an electrical circuit may be interrupted.

It is an object of our invention to overcome the problem of synchronizing other independent circuit operations with the interruption time of a device being tested.

It is still another object of our invention to 20 provide apparatus for automatically applying to a current-interrupting device a voltage surge simulating a recovery voltage transient at the instant when the current to be interrupted falls to zero.

25 It is a further object of our invention to make the operation of the apparatus independent of the magnitude of the current.

Other and further objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

30 Owing to the large amounts of power involved in operation under actual conditions, it is desirable to test the interrupting capacity of large circuit breakers and to test the behavior of electrical circuits during interruption of heavy cur- 35 rents by providing a relatively low-voltage highcurrent generator and a separate relatively lowpower high-voltage generator with suitable arrangements for applying the voltage of the highvoltage generator to the circuit breaker or at 40 the point of interruption of the electrical circuit at the instant when the current of the high-current generator is interrupted. The difficulty of properly synchronizing the release of the high voltage with the interruption of the high current ,48 has heretofore interfered with the successful realization of such tests. Such tests as could be made have been of relatively little value in comparison with actual operating conditions under full power.

50 When a sinusoidal current is interrupted, ow-

ing to the formation of an are before the actual cessation of current, the current wave departs from a true sine wave in the vicinity of the zero point of the cycle andialls to zero more rapidly ll than it woulddf it followed a true sine wave to thenextinction of the current. In a pure sine wave, the first derivative of current with respect to time at the instant of zero current is a maximum but the change in magnitude of the first derivative is relatively gradual. On the other 5 hand, when the current curve has a shape such asthat just described owing to formation of an arc,- as the current falls to zero, the first derivative of current with respect to time has a relatively abrupt peak and thereafter falls abruptly 10 to zero. In consequence, the second derivative of current with respect to time not only has an abrupt peak but it has a sharp peaked reversal in magnitude at the instant when the current falls to zero. The fact that the second deriva-' tive of current with respect to time not merely has a sharp peak but the peak is of opposite polarity from the remainder of the curve representing the second derivative makes this phenomenon of particular value for positively and abuptly triggering a surge generator or other device for applying an auxiliary voltage to the circuit-interrupting device at the instant when the current falls to zero in order to simulate a recovery voltage transient. It will be understood that the first derivative of current with respect to time is the expression used in the branch of mathematics, known ,as the calculus, to represent the slope or steepness of a tangent to a curve representing current plotted against time, current valves being measured in a vertical direction and time being measured in a horizontal direction. Similarly, the second derivative of current with respect to time is the slope of a tangent to a curve representing the first derivative of current plotted with respect to time.

In carrying out our invention in its preferred form, we cause a voltage to be produced which is proportional to the second derivative of current with respect to time and the current flowing 40 in a circuit to be interrupted, and we utilize this voltage for releasing a surge generator connected to a circuit-interrupting device or circuit being tested.

The invention may be understood more readily from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing and those features of the invention which are believed to be novel and patentable will be pointed out in the claims appended hereto. In the drawing Fig. 1a is a graph representing the latter portion of the positive half of a cycle of current in an alternating-current circuit showing the course 01 a true sine wave by the dotted lines and the actual change of current by-the full lines; Fig. 1b is a graph representing the first derivative of current with respect to time corresponding to the graph of Fig. la; Fig. 1c is a graph representing the second derivative of current with respect to time corresponding to the graphs oi Figs. 1a and lb; and Fig. 2 is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating an embodiment oi my invention.

In Figs. la, lb, and 1c, the time is plotted along the horizontal axis and the vertical distance from the horizontal axis represents the value of current in Fig. 1a, the value of the first derivative in Fig. lb, and the value 01' the second derivative in Fig. 1c. The dotted portion of the curve represents the course which would be followed ii the current were not interrupted and continued along the normal sine wave i'orm. However, when the current is interrupted, an are forms and the current begins to tall 011 more abruptly than the normal sine wave before the instant when the actual cessation of current takes place. In consequence, the actual instant of zero current occurs prior to the zero point on the sine wave.

It will be seen in Fig. 1b that, when the current wave begins to depart from the sine wave, the value of the first derivative increases abruptly in numerical value. Then, at the-instant when the current reaches zero, the first derivative likewise changes very abruptly in value to zero. The second derivative 01' current as seen from Fig. 1c, which represents the slope of the curve of Fig. ID, has a sharp negative peak prior to the instant of current interruption and then a very abrupt positive peak at the instant of current interruption. Since the positive peak is not only very sharp but oi opposite polarity from the rest of the curve of Fig. la, a voltage having the shape of the curve of Fig. 1c is 01 particular value for positively and instantaneously releasing a surge generator.

The manner of obtaining a voltage proportional to the second derivative of current is illustrated in Fig. 2. In Fig. 2, the circuit breaker or other device, the interrupting characteristics of which are to be tested, is shown at II and a source of alternating current I! is connected to the circuit breaker H in series with inductors II and II. It will be understood that the current source I! may be such as to furnish the requisite current to simulate a short-circuit, a normal load current, or some other current at which the circuitinterrupting device II is intended to be tested but that the voltage and, consequently, the output of the source l2 may be relatively small.

In order to apply a voltage surge to the circuitinterrupting device ll, simulating a recovery voltage transient, one or more surge generators I5 and I6 are provided. In the arrangement shown, the two generators l5 and I6 oi opposite polarity are provided in order that a voltage transient of the proper polarity will be available regardless of the polarity of the current upon interruption. It will be understood that surge generators of any suitable type may be employed and, if desired, the surge generators may take the simple form of condensers I1 and II connected through rectiflers l9 and I! of a suitable type to relatively high-voltage sources 2| and 22, which may be secondary windings o! a transformer having a primary winding 23 energized by an alternating-current source.

For the sake of safety, the circuit-interrupt ing device ll may be grounded and the surge generators i5 and i8 are likewise grounded. A

three-electrode gap 2 is interposed between the ungrounded sides of the circuit-interrupting device II and the surge generator II and similarly a three-electrode gap 25 is interposed between the ungrounded sides or the circuit-interrupting device Hand the surge generator II.

In order to guard against interaction between the surge generators I5 and I8 whereby the discharge of one generator might trip the other, inductance coils 26 and 21 are connected in series with the gaps 24 and 25, respectively, and high resistance grounding connections 28 and I! are made to the generator sides of the inductances 26 and 11, respectively The three-electrode gap 24 consists of an electrode connected to the interrupting device, an electrode II connected to the surge generator, and a middle electrode 32. The three-electrode gap 2| likewise consists 01 end electrodes a and I4 and a middle electrode ll.

One of the inductors II has connected across it a condenser II and a resistor ll, the elements 36 and 31 being in series, with the resistor 31 connected to one side oi. the interrupting device II. The terminal 88, common to the condenser 36 and the resistor 31, is connected to the middle electrodes 32 and ll 0! the gaps N and II.

As will now be explained, the voltage drop in the resistor 31 is proportional to the second derivative with respect to line of current in the circuit-interrupting device II and, upon the interruption oi current in the device II, a sharp voltage impulse is applied to the middle electrodes 32 and 36 to release the surge generator 0! proper polarity and apply a recovery voltage transient to the circuit-interrupting device I l.

The mathematical relationships are represented by the following equations:

It is seen, therefore, that Va is a voltage proportional to the value In the foregoing equations the symbols are used with the following significance:

V1. is the voltage occurring across the inductor ll.

L is the inductance of the inductor I 3.

2'1 is the instantaneous value of the shortcircuit current, that is, the current to be interrupted by the device II.

t is the time.

is the first derivative of the current 11 with respect to time.

i: is the current flowing in the resistor 31.

C is the capacity of the condenser I.

is the second derivative oi the current it,

with respect to time.

Va is the voltage drop in the resistor 31.

R is the resistance 0! the resistor 31.

Disregarding the surge generator II and assuming that the current to be interrupted is of such polarity as to require the surge generator [6 to be used for producing the recovery voltage transient, the operation of the apparatus is as follows:

At the instant of interruption of current by the device II, a sharp positive peak of voltage proportional to is applied to the middle electrode 35, causing the potential difference between the electrodes 35 and 34 to become so great that the'gap breaks down. The potential difference between the electrodes 33 and 35 thereupon becomes great enough to break down this gap and a discharge of the condenser l8 takes place across the entire gap 25, applying the recovery voltage transient to the interrupting device H. The voltage wave applied to the middle electrode rises so abruptly that the gap breaks down at the instant when the current in the breaker becomes zero. Variations in the magnitude of the current, or of its first and second derivatives with respect to time cannot produce variations in the time at which the voltage applied to the gap becomes great enough to break it down. It will be understood, of course, that, if the current interrupted had been of the opposite polarity, the voltage peak on the middle electrodes of the gaps would have been of the opposite polarity and the other surge generator of opposite polarity would have been released.

The spacing between the electrodes 01' the three-electrode gaps is so chosen that the potential of the condenser I! alone is insufflcient to break down the gap between the electrodes 34 and 35 and the potential occurring across the resistor 31 alone is insuflicient to break down the gap between the electrodes 33 and 35. However, when the voltage of the resistor 31 is added to that of the condenser I! when applied between the electrodes 34 and 35, the resultant voltage is sufficient to break down this part of the gap and, consequently, to'break down the entire gap and release the surge generator.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, we have described the principle oi! operation of my invention together with the apparatus which we now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof but we desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:--

1. Apparatus for testing circuit-interrupting devices comprising in combination a supply circuit for current to be interrupted by an interrupting device under test, an inductive impedance included in said circuit, a condenser and a resistor connected in series across said inductive impedance, a surge generator, and connections including a three-electrode spark gap between said generator and said circuit, said gap having its middle electrode connected to the common point of said condenser and said resistor.

2. Apparatus for testing circuit-lnterrupting devices comprising in combination, a pair of tel--- minals to which electrodes of a circuit-interrupting device are adapted to be connected, a source of current to be interrupted by an intem'upting' device under test, an inductive impedance corn nected in series with said source and said termi nals, a condenser having a terrninai connected between said source and'said inductive impedance and having a second terminal, a resistor having; a terminal connected to the one of said testing terminals common to said inductive impedance and having a second terminal, a. surge generator having output terminals, one of which is connected to one of said testing terminals, and a gap having three electrodes including an end electrode connected to the remaining output terminal of I said generator, a second end electrode connected to said testing terminal common to said inductive impedance and said resistor, and a middle elec trode connected to the second terminals of said condenser and said resistor.

3. Apparatus for testing circnit-interrupting devices comprising in combination, a supply cir cuit for current to be interrupted by an inter rupting device under test, a surge generator, connections including a three-electrode spark 5 between said generator and said circuit, means for producing a voltage proportional to the second derivative with respect to time of current in. said supply circuit, and means for applying said voltage to the middle electrode of said threeelectrode gap,

4. Apparatus for testing circuit-interrupting devices comprising in combination, a supply circuit for current to be interrupted by an interrupting device under test, said circuit including a pair of terminals for connection to an interrupting device under test, a surge generator connected to said terminals for applying a recovery voltage transient, said surge generator having a voltage responsive releasing means, means for producing a voltage proportional to the second derivative with respect to time of current in said supply circuit, and means for applying said voltage to the releasing means of said surge generator.

5. In combination, apparatus of the type in which current may be interrupted, a current su ply circuit connected in series relation with apparatus, means for producing a voltage pi portional to the second derivative with respect to time of current flowing in said apparatus, a surge generator connected across said apparatus and having a voltage-responsive releasing me; i her, and a connection between said voltagwprcducing means and said surge generator reieasing member.

RAOUL 'wrnamrnu. GERHAR-D 

